City Called Heaven

Heavenly King, your reign is righteousness, justice, peace. Guide this nation as it elects leaders. Help us make wise choices, that our government and its leaders bless the land and bring comfort to the poor. Support those who seek to uphold civil rights and fair elections: all election officials, poll workers and poll watchers, and especially . Lord in your mercy, hear our prayer. In our congregation we are praying particularly for one of our members and her co-workers at the Brennan Center. Many congregations have people who serve as poll workers and electoral volunteers, and this is a good opportunity to support their work in prayer.

Or simply another way to redistribute wealth upwards? I don’t know if this piece of “legislation” is necessary to avert doom for the nation’s and world financial markets – but I doubt it. There is so much wrong with this bill, and with this process, that it’s hard to know where to begin. 1. The last time George Bush & Co. asked for a trillion dollar blank check, and insisted the deal had to be done or the sky would fall... well, that worked out OK, right? 2. It gives the money to precisely the same people and institutions that got us into this mess. Hank Paulson, the architect of the initial bailout proposal, is one of the very characters that first oversaw construction of the house of cards (as Chairman of Goldman Sachs), and then ensured flimsier building practices in deregulating the financial instruments most responsible for the current crisis. 3. What exactly changed between Monday and Friday to switch the votes of 57 Congresspeople? How did a risky, too-expensive, ideological...

Please page to the bottom for my "best guess" electoral map. It's not entirely accurate - I predict a split in Nebraska's electoral votes with McCain and Obama each getting one for sure and the other two undecided.